Census of India 2001

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Census of India 2001
Mobilising Support for Indias Census
- Constraints and Challenges J K
Banthia Registrar General Census Commissioner,
IndiaPretoria, South AfricaNovember 2001
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Some Basic Facts on India

• India comprises of 30 states and five union
  territories with a provisional population of
  1,027,015,247 as on 000 hours of 1st March 2001
• Largest state in terms of population is Uttar
  Pradesh with population at 2001 Census is 166
  million and the smallest is the union territory
  of Lakshadweep with only 0.06 million population.
• Rajasthan has the largest area 342,239 sq km
  Lakshadweep has the smallest area 32 sq km

Contd.
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Some Basic Facts on India

• Total number of districts - 593. The largest
  district is Medinipur of West Bengal with a
  population of 9.6 million and the smallest
  district is Yenam in Pondicherry with a
  population of 31,362 only.
• Total number of towns 5,161. Population of the
  largest town - Greater Mumbai and the smallest
  town has a population 338 in Gujarat.
• Total number of villages in the country is over
  642,000

Contd.
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Some Basic Facts on India

• Vast social and cultural diversity can be gauged
  by the fact that over 1500 Scheduled Castes and
  Scheduled Tribes exist. There are 18 scheduled
  languages. Six major religions and several other
  persuasions and faiths co-exist.
• India has a democratic setup with a free vibrant
  press.
• A three-tier system of government - A Union
  Government for the country at the centre, the
  provincial governments in the states and the
  local governments at the village and town level

Contd.
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Some Basic Facts on India

• Census is a Union subject and is entirely funded
  by the Central Government. State and local
  governments carry out the census operations under
  the overall supervision of the Central government
  and their main role is in providing the manpower.
  

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Census in India

• Census is carried out under the Census of India
  Act 1948. There are several provisions in the
  Constitution which make it mandatory for the
  Government to undertake census.
• India has a long tradition of carrying out a
  decadal population census since 1872 without any
  interruption. Census of India 2001 is the 14th in
  the series and 6th since the Independence.

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Census in India

• Census is carried out in two phases
  Houselisting Operations (April to June 2000) and
  Population Enumeration (9th to 28th February 2001
  with a revisional round between 1st to 5th
  March).
• For each round approximately 2 million paid
  Enumerators and Supervisors (mostly Teachers)
  were deployed.
• Census is carried out by the canvassing method
  the Enumerator visits each household and collects
  information at the doorsteps.

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Census in India

• Every person within the boundaries of the country
  is enumerated irrespective of sex, caste,
  religion, nationality, age. This includes the
  houseless and pavement dwellers also.
• Census information is confidential by law and is
  used only for statistical purposes in aggregated
  form at pre-designated administrative levels.

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Census in India

• It is mandatory for every household to provide
  information in respect of each member as
  truthfully as possible to the designated
  questions put by the Census Enumerator.

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Constraints and Challenges

• Financial
• Legal
• Socio political
• Technical
• Administrative

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Financial

• The quantum of honorarium for the Enumerators
  (approximately USD 50 per Enumerator)
• Size of the enumerating agency particularly the
  supervisory staff
• Appointment of Master Trainers for intensive and
  quality training of Enumerators
• Deployment of Census Advisors during training of
  Enumerators for engendering the census, better
  age reporting and netting of womens work,
  particularly unpaid work (Assistance came from
  UNFPA, UNIFEM UNICEF)
• Use of quality paper and quality printing for
  Census Schedules due to change in data processing
  technology (adoption of scanning and ICR
  technology).

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Financial

• Additional cost on account of Practice Sheet for
  writing numerals by the Enumerators
• Additional cost on account of standardizing the
  size of training class and on preparation of
  multi-media training capsules in several
  languages
• Additional cost on account of equipment, such as
  LCD Projectors, Laptop computers etc.

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Financial

• Approximately half of the projected additional
  requirement of funds was on account of the manual
  data processing as per the initial plans.
• Additional cost on account of Publicity
  particularly Radio and Television which are no
  longer in government control
• Size of the Budget requirement therefore
  increased tremendously over the earlier censuses.
  Initial projected and approved budget was about
  US Dollar 260 million (Direct per capita cost on
  account of census taking and data processing was
  estimated at USD 25 cents).

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Legal

• Several writ petitions filed in High Court for
  inclusion of particular questions as a part of
  Census (e.g., caste, religion..)
• For permanent absorption as full time employees
  in government of part time census employees and
  even enumerators deployed in the previous
  censuses.
• Challenging the requisitioning of services of
  certain employees for census work particularly in
  metropolitan cities (by Bank employees, teachers
  etc.).

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Socio political

• Inclusion of question on disability by several
  NGOs
• Providing of extra numeric code for certain
  religious groups and recording of the existence
  of their religious communities
• Proper recording of certain tribal groups
• Providing of separate identity for eunuchs and
  treating prostitutes/sex workers as economically
  active population
• Changing the period of population enumeration on
  account of seasonal migration
• Enumeration of tenants a fear among certain
  landlords of levying of extra House Tax by the
  town authorities

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Socio political

• Suspicion among people that certain questions
  enquiring regarding assets owned by the household
  will be passed on to the Income tax Department
• Overcoming the abnormal ground realities in Jammu
  Kashmir in wake of the militants call to
  boycott census and in Tripura due to social
  unrest.

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Technical

• Canvassing of only one Census schedule the
  Household Schedule
• Redesigning of the Houselist and the Household
  Schedule taking cognizance of the scanning and
  ICR technology adopted in the Census for the
  first time.
• Provision of practice sheet for Enumerators for
  writing numeric responses to census questions in
  a consistent manner across the country to
  facilitate the process of scanning and
  recognition of filled-in census schedules
• Direct participation and involvement of the
  population invoked through provision of putting
  the signatures of the respondent

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Technical

• Enhancing the scope of Census data at the
  Houselisting stage by including several new items
  of information on quality of life. Similarly some
  new questions were added at the Population
  Enumeration stage also.
• Slum enumeration blocks carved out in towns to
  provide data on housing and demographic data on
  slum dwellers at no extra cost.
• Special efforts made to sensitize the Enumerators
  and the public to minimize gender biases creeping
  in unconsciously at the time of canvassing of
  schedule. This was achieved by better designing
  of the Questions, restructuring the Instruction
  Manual and training sessions, engagement of
  Census Advisors and special publicity measures
  highlighting womens work.

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Technical

• Exploring new technology for data processing with
  a view to speed up the census results and also
  bring down the huge cost on account of manual
  tabulation (The revised estimated cost on account
  of data processing is likely to be in 10 12
  million USD only).
• Dissemination of Census results using multiple
  media, like, printed volumes, floppy diskettes,
  CD ROM, Internet
• By using GIS creating digital database of the
  administrative boundaries of the country from
  village level upwards to facilitate thematic maps
  based on census data

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Administrative

• Setting the house in order appointment of
  Census Commissioner, India and Directors of
  Census Operations of 35 states.
• Freezing of administrative boundaries with effect
  from 1. 1. 2000 ban on creation of new
  districts, towns, villages etc. (However in
  November 2000 three new states were created by
  Government of India !! Unprecedented in the
  history of Indian Census)
• Finalizing/rescheduling the period of census
  taking, particularly in Jammu Kashmir and
  earthquake affected areas of Gujarat.

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Administrative

• Overcoming various administrative problems, such
  as strike of Government employees just prior to
  the commencement of census operations in Bihar,
  Rajasthan, Jammu Kashmir
• Timely printing of about 350 million Census
  Schedules and 5 million Instruction Manual for
  Enumerators in 16 and 18 languages respectively
  ensuring proper and correct translation
• Logistic support for transporting and
  distributing the Census material across the
  length and breadth of the country by ship, air,
  rail, road and even on foot

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Administrative

• Storing and record keeping of 228 million
  schedules - Collection of filled-in schedules in
  plastic folders for protection against rain, dust
  and destruction. Taking care to retrieve them
  from all the two million Enumeration Blocks,
  maintaining proper inventory and ensuring proper
  storage before scanning.
• Enhancing public awareness on Census and with a
  view for full coverage of the population, even in
  the remotest areas and improving the quality of
  information to be collected (overcoming the
  massive pulse polio campaign that preceded
  Census. Similarly the spot light on news coverage
  of the tragic earthquake of 26th January 2001 had
  to be taken into account)

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Administrative

• An appropriate mix of radio (for people in remote
  and inaccessible areas), television (for largely
  for the urban and semi-urban people), newspapers
  and other print media (for various linguistic
  groups and the literate population)
• Census Help Centres opened across the country to
  provide instant assistance to Enumerators and
  also the public to improve the coverage and
  content.
• Opening of toll free Census Telephone Help Line
  for public to register their grievance.

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Administrative

• Special approaches for publicity involved use of
  stickers, organizing cycle rallies, Census Quiz
  Contest on Internet, street plays, song and
  musical numbers, essay competition etc.
• Celebration of 9th February the first day of
  census taking as the Census Day. Mass campaign
  for affixing the sticker bearing the census logo
• Nation wide free publicity on account of the
  enumeration coverage of the President, Vice
  President, Prime Minister and other important
  dignitaries (This free publicity was worth
  millions of Dollars).

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Administrative

• Messages urging people to participate in census
  wholeheartedly and provide correct information
  (the President, Prime Minister, Governors and
  Chief Ministers of states, noble laureate Prof
  Amartya Sen, popular sports and film
  personalities and important social activists).

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Thank you